Category Archives: Jewish & Ethnic Food

As a Mid-West boy at heart, fried chicken was always one of my favorites. On many Sundays, our family would take a drive out to a country restaurant that was actually a farm, where we as kids would pet the animal while we waited for our table to be ready. The meal was always served family style, with such standards as cole slaw, corn fritters and, of course, apple pie for dessert. Read More →

While living in South Africa, I became familiar with Peri Peri seasoning, a spice introduced by the Portuguese sailors and settlers. Peri Peri is a truly distinctive garlic hot sauce. In South Africa, it is especially popular as a marinade for chicken, but it is also excellent for fish tacos. As a transplanted southern Californian, where Baja California fish tacos are popular, as a frequent visitor to Hawaii, where Mahi Mahi is in abundance, and as a former resident of South Africa, this dish combines the best of three of my worlds.

This chicken soup recipe is only a distant cousin of what is often called “Jewish penicillin.” It may not be traditional, but you will discover that it has great flavor. Mazah balls or egg noodles could be substituted for the cubed potatoes to give this recipe more of a Jewish touch.

Almost every Chinese restaurant serves some version of Kung Pao Chicken. Most, in my opinion, miss the mark They tend to rely on thick, brown sauce with some spice added and a mélange of various vegetables. I feel that a truly excellent Kung Pao should be much more distinctive. The peanuts should be very fresh. The major ingredients should not be swimming in sauce, but rather flavored by the sauce. I actually use no vegetables except the scallions. The result is a Kung Pao that will knock your socks off with great flavor and texture.

Every cook has his/her own personal favorites that are sure-fire hits every single time. I have been preparing this chicken recipe for many years and it never fails to please. The fabulous aroma of the ginger and garlic wafting from the kitchen put diners in the right mood even before the dish comes to the table.

One would not normally associate Cajun and Jewish cooking. At first glance, they would not appear to be that compatible, particularly since Cajun cooking often uses ingredients that are blatantly non-Kosher. There is the Kosher Cajun Cookbook, by Mildred L. Covert and Sylvia P. Gerson, which adapts Cajun classics to conform to the Jewish dietary laws. This chopped liver recipe is much more innovative because it truly combines the texture and traditional Jewish chopped liver with seasonings that never could have been imagined by our Jewish mothers. It has a lot of zip, I promise.

I realize that for many traditionalists, fooling around with an old standard comes close to sacrilege. However, in my opinion, gefilte fish desperately needs help. In its usual form, it is at best, an acquired taste. This southwestern version receives fabulous reviews every time. Even people who dislike gefilte fish like this recipe. This is another example of how a somewhat boring Jewish recipe can be brightened up a lot with the fusion of ingredients from other communities.

Are these recipes Kosher?

The recipes on this website are not specifically kosher. However, all of them can be modified to conform to traditional Jewish dietary laws. For example, when butter or milk is called for in a meat or poultry dish, there are non-dairy alternatives that are acceptable.